Antea Mrsic Crowned Miss Universe Croatia 2026, Marking Pageant's 30th Anniversary

Croatia has crowned its representative for the upcoming Miss Universe pageant. Antea Mrsic took the national title on Monday, May 25, at a coronation held at the Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb, edging out a field of 14 other contestants for the crown.

Mrsic, 24, is a Zagreb native and a graduate in sports management. Her win earns her the right to represent Croatia at Miss Universe 2026, which will be staged in Puerto Rico this coming November as part of the pageant's landmark 75th edition.

This year's national competition carried extra significance for Croatia's pageant community, marking the 30th anniversary edition of the country's Miss Universe franchise — a milestone that added a celebratory backdrop to the evening's proceedings.

Filling out the rest of the court, Monika Vojvodi? was named first runner-up, while Laura Vujica, Magdalena Fofi?, and Beata Šimat rounded out the second, third, and fourth runner-up positions, respectively.

The crowning moment came courtesy of Mrsic's predecessor, Laura Gnjatovi?, last year's Miss Universe Croatia titleholder, who advanced to the Top 30 at Miss Universe 2025 in Thailand this past November before passing the sash forward to her successor.

Speaking after her win, Mrsic expressed deep gratitude to everyone who had believed in her throughout the competition, and said she was thrilled at the opportunity now in front of her to represent Croatia on an international stage. 

Her victory adds Croatia to a growing roster of countries that have crowned their delegates for Puerto Rico this year, joining other recently-minted national titleholders such as Canada's Aslihan Morali, Spain's Susana Medina, the Netherlands' Melissa Bottema, Japan's Sayuki Ito, and Myanmar's May Grace Parry — all of whom earned their crowns within a similar window this pageant season.

With Gnjatovi?'s Top 30 placement at last year's competition still fresh, expectations may be building for Croatia to build further momentum on the international stage. Whether Mrsic can match or exceed that result remains to be seen, but her academic background in sports management and her Zagreb roots give her a distinct profile heading into the competition.

As national pageants continue wrapping up across the globe throughout the summer months, each new titleholder — including Mrsic — adds another name to the growing list of women preparing to compete in what organizers have branded a milestone year for the Miss Universe organization. For Croatia specifically, the symbolic weight of celebrating three decades of participation in the pageant, paired with the crowning of a new queen in the same breath, makes this year's edition one that Croatian pageant fans are likely to remember as particularly meaningful.

No further details on Mrsic's platform, advocacy interests, or prior pageant history were included in the original coverage.